Give Peace a Chance

The other day a person asked me this question: “If you could have any thing in the world, no matter what the cost, what would it be?”

By Karen Merchant

The other day a person asked me this question: “If you could have any thing in the world, no matter what the cost, what would it be?”

I have always answered this question in the same way for years and years and years ... a peaceful world where all people are respectful of each other and hate or prejudice does not exist.

If we could just look beyond the issue of color or nationality or social standing or human limitations or financial situation, we would become more tolerant and therefore peaceful. This is really hard. Often times we are prejudice without even knowing we are doing it. Think about driving in an unfamiliar place and how we make judgments based on the way a person looks. Think about seeing someone dressed in an unusual way (for you) and we are leery of them. Think about hearing about different people from around the world in situations that we don’t understand and therefore we form negative opinions about them and their culture. This is not being peaceful but sometimes we can’t keep from doing it. It is ingrained in us and old habits are hard to break. But we can do it!

President John F. Kennedy said the following:

“Peace is a daily, a weekly, a monthly process, gradually changing opinions, slowly eroding old barriers, quietly building new structures.”

Are you willing to try? See how it goes. Each day, make an effort to educate yourself, to look for meaning in things that you don’t understand, and to greet each person with a smile and a wish for a peaceful day.

Peace be with you!

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KAREN MERCHANT retired in 2005 after 30 years as a teacher at Palo Community Schools. She now fills her time with volunteering for many organizations. She has been a member of the Ionia County Peace Community since its inception.